DLNR hires company to remove sunken boat off Waikiki

WAIKIKI (HawaiiNewsNow) -

The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) has hired marine salvage company Sea Engineering to begin removal of a 26-foot sailboat that sank on Sunday in nearshore waters off the Elks Club.

State officers are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the boat's sinking.

Sea Engineering has begun mobilizing today but will not begin work on site until early tomorrow morning so that it can better assess a forecast of increased surf.

Cost of removal to the state is estimated at $21,750.

On Friday afternoon, DLNR was notified of the vessel's presence between 80 and 100 yards from shore in waters 12- to 14-feet deep. A DLNR enforcement officer and biologist responded on Saturday. State boating laws allows boats to anchor up to 72 hours in a location without a mooring permit. At the time, the vessel was not grounded, but the anchor line was found to have been wrapped around live rock and coral, causing concern for reef damage. As a result, the state began the process of notifying the owner to remove the vessel. DLNR said at the time, the vessel was otherwise afloat and appeared to be sitting fine in the water above a substrate of small corals, rubble and sand.

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When we asked Governor David Ige if he could beat Colleen Hanabusa in a potential match-up in 2018, he didn't hesitate with this response. "Certainly. I believe that I will be successful for any of those candidates that are considering it," he said. While Ige says he's sure he could win reelection in 2018, he says he doesn't know why powerful democratic forces are looking to defeat him with a candidate like Hanabusa in the primary election next August. "I don't know....